Suspect nabbed in deputy, police chief shooting

Apr. 17, 2008 08:04 AMAssociated Press

CAPAC, Mich. - Authorities captured a man Thursday who is accused of shooting and critically wounding a police chief, grazing a deputy and retreating into a house that was soon surrounded by officers. At some point, he slipped away on foot.

The search for Donald Burke ended at 1 a.m. when officers found him hiding in a commercial vehicle less than a quarter-mile from the home in which the standoff began, St. Clair County sheriff's spokesman Gary Albrecht said.

Burke, 50, slightly resisted arrest and complained of chest pains after being taken into custody, Albrecht said. He was taken to Port Huron Mercy Hospital, where he was undergoing tests Thursday morning.

Burke is charged in a warrant with two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, said county Prosecutor Mike Wendling. Police originally pursued Burke for reckless driving.

Burke could be arraigned as early as Thursday afternoon, the sheriff's department said in a news release.

A message seeking comment at Burke's home in Capac Thursday morning was not returned.

Police believe Burke had been hiding in the vehicle since escaping from his home in Capac, a small community surrounded by farm fields and woods about 45 miles northeast of Detroit.

Dozens of officers had converged on the home following the shooting Wednesday afternoon. They waited, working under the assumption that the suspect was inside with a rifle used in the shooting and hoping to talk him into surrendering. But after more than five hours, they stormed the house Wednesday evening, only to find it empty.

Hawks had been pursuing the man, with whom he'd had problems in the past, expected trouble and called for backup, Lane said.

Hawks called for a tow truck to remove the Burke's car, but when Burke saw the truck he came out of the house with a rifle and started shooting, Lane said. Authorities would not say whether the rifle was found in the house later.